Scarlet and Gold
by MinervaDeannaBond
Summary: After many years, Eglantine Price is finally accepted into Hogwarts and is Sorted by the Sorting Hat... but which House will she call her home?


I'm surprised that there are no _Harry Potter_/_Bedknobs & Broomsticks _crossovers on here, so I guess I'll be the first to contribute one! In this tale, Eglantine Price gets Sorted by the Sorting Hat... and if you're as big a Potterhead as I am and if you know Eglantine's character well, you can guess which House she's in!

* * *

_Badger, eagle, lion, snake, tell me which House shall I take?_

So Eglantine Price's thoughts went, to the tune of the old skipping rhyme "Apples, Peaches, Pears, and Plums." She couldn't believe that, after all these years, she was finally getting a chance to study magic the proper way – at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Eglantine had gotten her first letter at the age of eleven, but her Muggle parents, frightened that their daughter would be burned at the stake if her magical powers were discovered, forbade her from going. Of course, the edict didn't stop a deluge of letters from inundating the house year after year. And by the time Eglantine was a teenager, her powers, having never had the chance to be exercised and to flourish and develop, were mediocre at best.

Still, Eglantine always felt deep in her heart that her powers were a gift, not a curse, and for years after she strove to find another way to learn magic. However, it wasn't until 1940, after enrolling in Emelius Browne's Correspondence College of Witchcraft, exercising her powers, and saving England from a Nazi invasion, that her chance came again. Another letter arrived from Hogwarts inviting her to study magic. Granted, it was about seventeen years too late and the letter had been preceded by a warning from the Improper Use of Magic Office about her little "battle" involving several empty suits of armor on the hills of Pepperinge Eye, but still... it was a step in the right direction after all.

Privately, Eglantine had to wonder if her use of the Substitutiary Locomotion spell had anything to do with her finally being accepted into Hogwarts. She was astounded that she hadn't been sent off to Azkaban for performing magic of that magnitude and within eyeshot of so many Muggles, but for some reason beyond the wildest notion, it turned out to be her invitation into the wizarding world rather than an exile from it. And after a brief slap on the wrist about using magic in public and the extraction of her solemn word that she would never try such a foolhardy thing again, Eglantine was off to Hogwarts for the first time in forever. She had spent a glorious journey from London into the rolling hills of Scotland on the Hogwarts Express, and now she was walking up the stairs and into the great castle, where a magnificent set of double doors now opened to reveal...

Eglantine gasped. _How magical! _The room she now beheld had to be the Great Hall she'd heard so much about. Four long wooden tables stood in the center of the room, one for each of the four Houses, another table stood above them at the end of the hall – no doubt, the table where the staff sat – and torches and floating candles bathed the cavernous room in warmth and welcoming light. But the grandest sight of all was the ceiling. Enchanted to resemble the sky, it was now a velvety purplish-blue and sparkling with brilliant stars. And right in front of the High Table stood a stool, on which was perched an ancient-looking hat. _That must be the Sorting Hat, _Eglantine thought. _It doesn't look like much, but then again, we should never judge anything by its appearance. I certainly learned that after meeting Emelius. _

As she walked up the aisle of the Great Hall to the stool, she began to feel butterflies tickle the inside of her stomach. _Four Houses. Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Hufflepuff, where those are just and loyal. Ravenclaw, for those of a ready mind. Slytherin, where the cunning use any means to achieve their ends. Which one am I? Brave, loyal, intelligent, cunning... or all of the above? How on Earth shall the Sorting Hat decide? Well, it's too late to turn back now. _Taking a deep breath, Eglantine sat down on the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on her head... and her destiny in its hands.

"Hmm, interesting. Very interesting."

Eglantine nearly jumped off the stool when she heard the voice in her head. The Sorting Hat was speaking to her in her mind, for her and her alone. She had half a mind to ask it what was so interesting, but held her tongue when it began to speak again.

"The heroine of Pepperinge Eye, I see. _Heroine _describes you very well, Miss Price, very well indeed. You possess extraordinary courage and resourcefulness, as well as fierce loyalty to those you hold dear and a burning desire to prove yourself. You are also gifted with a keen mind and a determination to learn, and you are just and fair to all. However, that incident at Pepperinge Eye... that took great cunning to execute such a plan, and you were willing to go to great lengths to ensure its success. Yes, you would do very well in - "

"Not Slytherin," Eglantine interrupted, her heart beating rapidly. "Anything but Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin, eh?" the Hat said in her ear. "Why not? Slytherin would make a great witch out of you."

"Not great in the sense you imply. If I'm going to be great, I would rather use my powers for great goodness and love than for great evil and personal gain. And I believe that Slytherin, with its reputation for turning out Dark witches and wizards and its emphasis on purity of blood, would not allow me to be the role model that I desire to be for my children. If you take choices into account at all, then I choose not to be a Slytherin."

When the Hat spoke again, it sounded pleased. "You are a noble one, Miss Price, and you show great bravery in speaking your choice, as well as great love for your family. Bravery, nobility, resourcefulness, love and loyalty... yes, my choice for you is... GRYFFINDOR!"

Eglantine's heart leapt and she nearly let out a whoop of joy as she rose from the stool. "Thank you!" she cried to the Hat before placing it back on the stool and facing the Great Hall with new eyes. She drank in the glowing firelight, the candles, the magical ceiling... and, for the first time, the banners bearing the colors and symbols of each House of Hogwarts. A black badger on yellow for Hufflepuff, a bronze eagle against blue for Ravenclaw, a silver serpent on green for Slytherin, and a gold lion against scarlet for Gryffindor.

_Wait... scarlet banners with gold lions? Where have I seen this before? _All at once, an image of trumpets, blowing a triumphant call to battle, swam before her eyes. Those trumpets had come alive after she'd cast the Substitutiary Locomotion spell upon them and called the suits of armor up to fight, and those same trumpets had been draped in ruby-red banners decorated with gold lions. _Gryffindor red. Gryffindor lions. It was a sign then, wasn't it? Scarlet and gold, the colors of courage and loyalty. It _was _meant to be._

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart," Eglantine murmured. "I am ready!" She drew her new wand, crafted from mahogany and unicorn hair, and beamed ear-to-ear as scarlet and gold sparks flew from the tip in a brilliant fireworks display. Scarlet and gold, the colors of the glorious destiny that awaited her and the colors of the brave and loyal witch she was and would be forevermore.


End file.
